Congratulations. You're a teenager with superpowers. Big whoop. You and like, ten percent of the country. You ain't special.

Look, kid. The government doesn't care about you as a person. It just cares that you don't try to use your powers for some weird political revolution. And your parents care that you're out of the house long enough for them to fight without CPS getting called.

And I, Jeb "Cholesterol" Jackson, care about getting my monthly check from the state for feeding your sorry butts for a month.

So here's the deal.

Don't do drugs, don't get pregnant, don't feed the bears, don't talk to the secret agents hiding in the woods.

And your limiters? Trash 'em for all I care. There ain't nothing but forest for miles, and whatever you break, you'll be fixing.

Say bye to your parents, and on the count of three, let's all raise a middle finger to the establishment.

Camp WInifred is a tiny, run-down summer camp in the middle of the forest, up in the rolling Appalachian mountains. It's named for Mrs. Winifred Jackson, the love of Jeb Jackson's life, and also his mother.

You can only get to the camp through miles of twisted gravel road, or you can just follow the smell of rotten gym socks and skunk musk through the trees.

The northern quadrant of the camp is the plaza, which is a very fancy name for the rugged campfire, and the log bleachers encircling it that have long succumbed to termite civilization. On the bright side, the seats are soft and springy!

To the south is the main camp building, which has the office (a closet with a beige Gateway and dial-up modem) and the dining hall that's decorated in American flags and suspiciously skillfully taxidermied hunting trophies.

The western cabins are the girls' cabins, on account of the fairer sex deserving the newer, larger buildings. The boys are on the east side of the camp, on account of them being lazy shits who need the early morning sun to wake them up.

There's an RV with missing tags parked around the back of the camp hall, and there's where Jeb sleeps. It's locked at all times, ever since the one year where a camper stole his insulin and re-sold it on the black market after diluting it with saline.

This RP is a spin-off of a previous (and ongoing) superpower school RP, Aegis Facility 108. You don't need to have any familiarity with the previous RP's events, just a basic understanding of the setting.

The year is 2040, in a timeline where roughly one tenth of the world population, since the Neanderthals, carries the gene for superpowers. In the USA, a department of the federal government called Commonwealth is in charge of monitoring and representing the superpowered community.

Their main task is to maintain a registry of all known supers, and assign each person a rating from D to S based on how dangerous their powers potentially are to society at large.

In the higher ranks, supers are assigned a limiter, which is a wearable device that dampens their powers to an appropriate level. This limiter is removed when a citizen has gone two years without incident, and is also over 18.

#BlackLivesMatter

Weather: Clear skies
A fat and sweaty old man tottered through the campgrounds, his face bunched up in either disdain or refusal to wear glasses. He had to be somewhere in his 80s, at least – a crusty scalp with the thinnest wisps of greasy white hair.

His overalls were stained with mud, his fingernails could have emptied an entire salon, and his lungs resembled the coal mine that killed his cousin Kenny.

This was Jeb Jackson, of course.

He wandered up to the porch of the main building, and with the plastic tip of his cheap corner-store cane, smacked the semi-feral cat that had curled up on his rocking chair.

The cat, understandably, was extremely upset and made her opinion loudly known as she darted off elsewhere to finish her nap.

“Oh, shut the fuck up.” Jeb grunted as he sat his creaky bones down and lit up a fresh Newport.

“Toby! Toooby! Go make sure you get that dead buck off the road. Drag it to the kitchen, make dinner for the campers with it. Dumbass city slickers are probably already lost…”

OOC

Welcome to Camp Winifred! Day Zero is for opening posts - this is your opportunity to write about your character's trip up to the camp.

Once most players have posted their introductions, we'll move ahead in the story by about an hour, to dinner. That's when character interactions really get going, so don't worry right now if you can't figure out how to get your character into a conversation.

Grade-A Jackass

Tobias Jackson walked out of the main building, a cigarette already in his mouth as he readjusted the sling for the rifle over his shoulder."So, what would be your predicted outcome of this lot for the year then, Old Timer? Think another one's gonna run off? Join the wolves and bears before being eaten alive by a cougar? Or maybe another episode of you gettin' flung off into the horizon and I have'ta scrape ya off the side of the mountain?" He didn't wait for a response. More than likely it would be half slurred and completely incoherent.

He would see to it that the path was clear though, even if it broke so many hearts of the children. Well no.. ESPECIALLY of it broke their hearts.

As he made his way toward the main road, he looked around, seeing if any of the other people roped into this farce were kicking.

Junior Member

The ride to camp was tense. Ever since the incident a month ago there had been bad feelings within the Atwater family. Danielle's parents had refused point blank to discuss anything about what had happened. The fifteen year old had tried a couple times to bring it up, but quickly gave it up as she could see how negatively it was effecting her parents. She had pretty much retreated into her own private bubble. Her brothers had no such self-control however. Benny was constantly fighting with their parents now. He wanted their parents to at least acknowledge that it had happened and maybe even drop Danielle a couple encouraging words. He was furious at their attitude. Ryan was also angry about things, but he was at least quieter about it. He also showing her a lot of concern. He was worried about how his sister was going to be using her powers and he didn't want her to ever have to steal his injuries again. So, yeah...very intense car ride.

It was a huge relief when they finally pulled up to the camp. Danielle sat quietly between her two brothers in the back seat of the car, fiddling with a bracelet on her wrist. Ryan exited the car first and then the fifteen year old slid out after him. Her oldest brother slid his arms around her shoulders and led her around to the back of the car towards the trunk. Benny practically skipped along in their wake. Danielle giggled a little at his antics.

Their parents made no move to even exit the vechile.

"It'll be okay kid. Spend the summer making friends and learning to control your awesome powers. Benny and I we'll work on the rents and if they don't come around I'll move out and bring you to live with me,"Ryan said.

"And me,"Benny chimed in.

"Thanks guys...I guess..."Danielle replied. That was her biggest fear; that her parents were so disgusted at having someone with powers in the family that they would disown her. It helped a little that her brothers were being so supportive, but it didn't replace the large amount of hurt she was feeling.

Ryan squeezed down on her shoulders. The fifteen year old leaned into the gesture. Benny meanwhile popped the trunk open and loaded his arms with her stuff. He wouldn't listen when she voiced her protest that she could carry her own things.

"We're not leaving until they kick us out imp. Now let's find out where we have to bring you,"Benny said.

Attachments

Saver of the pretty birds

Mungus the Fungus__________________________________________________________________________________

Unfortunate.

Not that the beast had died, no- death was an inevitable occurrence, necessary for the course of life to continue. Life required death to give itself meaning, and death predicted something had to first live to then die. The two ideals existed as opposing forces, the marriage of which drove creation and destruction themselves. The matter, the nutrients that were once the deer was destined to return to the forest eventually...

No, it was unfortunate the creature had died on the pavement. The hard stone was neigh impermeable to the fungal community dwelling in the soil beneath the road itself. It would be some while before the birds and other scavenging creatures would be so kind as to distribute the remains throughout the forest, leaving the flesh to simply sit on the road and soak up the gasoline and oil residue along the road. That was...Unfortunate...

Having been simply staring expressionless at the dead animal limp in the road for several hours from the safety of the road’s side, the short little fungal avatar promptly stood and approached the roadkill. Perhaps he could move it off the road and speed the process up somehow? Yes. He could certainly try. Planting a mushroom hand on the buck’s right antler, the 2 foot tall fungal avatar firmly tugged and heaved at the body, over the course of an hour and a half steadily dragging it a good 4 inches from where it had originally lay dead.

Grade-A Jackass

Tobias had spent the majority of twenty minutes watching the Midget of the Midget Mushroom Man try desperately to move the remains off the road. At least, it FELT like twenty minutes. The four new cigarette butts he had tucked away for later (Because unlike his inbred Grandfather, he knew at least enough not to fuck up the place more) seemed like a proper passage of time.

He walked over and crouched in front of both the avatar and the corpse, staring down the little abomination with his usual fare of an emotionless gaze."Alright, I'll bite. 'Hell you doin' tryin' to haul off 300 pounds worth of Appalachian Casserole when you can't even lift people's spirits?"

Saver of the pretty birds

Mungus the Fungus__________________________________________________________________________________

Tobias.' The avatar voiced as he turned around to face the groundskeeper, having felt his approach.'Ah. Yes. Tobias. I am moving the flesh so that it may take it's course with nature more quickly.'Mungus' voice echoed from the avatar to Tobias' mind as the small fungal body gestured towards the deer's carcass.

'Many Mungus can grow from this body, but here on the hard pavement I cannot reach...' Mungus voiced as he gestured at the impermeable road. Gauging his hard work thus far, Mungus figured he would have the body curbside a few hours after sunset were he to continue alone. He was making good time for only having a single body working towards the goal, but could expedite the process should Tobias come to help with his much larger physique. Realizing this, the fungal avatar stared back up at the groundskeeper. The fungal avatar stared blankly at Tobias for a few seconds as it pondered. It would be faster with Tobias' help. But, was it rude to ask? Social norms were elusive to Mungus, though he somewhat tried to be attentive to them. Unsure of the answer, the fungal avatar turned back towards the deer's body and continue to give a mighty tug, ever so slowly dragging the body across the pavement. The least he could hope for was that the groundskeeper wouldn't reanimate the body and keep it from Mungus' reach for an even longer period...

Not a single day will go by without Blair wondering what in the hell she did to deserve this kind of torture. Never one to turn down a good party, she had met up with a few of the other staff the night before and drank like there was no tomorrow. She could have sworn that she was still drunk with the way she felt this morning. Any other decent person would have let their staff recover peacefully but nooooooo, that old fart just had to keep things on schedule.

Blair had officially been posted up at her station for over an hour. ''...If this was some kind of revenge for the hell I raised in my teens and now occasionally, Old Jack really got me good. It's only a little after 5 and every bit of my nocturnal spirit just wants to crawl into the woods and die. On the Brightside, I get to see the look of complete fear when these newbies walk up and see me.'' Blair snickered to herself as her large panther form was sprawled on top of the sign in table, leaving just enough space for the forms to be seen.

In the middle of yawn that flashed dangerous fangs, she picked up on the scent of three people approaching the area. Her tail flicked lazily until the children were within pouncing range. She released a deep roar that focused all the attention on to her, ''Welcome to a little slice paradise where you're allowed to be yourself unless you destroy camp property, are caught doing drugs, or happen to get caught streaking. Nakedness due to an abilities drawback is understandable. I'm Blair, and I'll be the counselor of the girls.'' Blair's feral eyes focused on the girl between the two boys and she smiled in a way that looked more like a silent snarl due to her throbbing temple.[/div][/div][/div][/div][div=text-align: right; margin-top: -40px; position: relative; z-line: 1; font-size: 40px; color: #326554; text-shadow: 2px 2px 3px black;]Silva[/div][/div]
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Not a single day will go by without Blair wondering what in the hell she did to deserve this kind of torture. Never one to turn down a good party, she had met up with a few of the other staff the night before and drank like there was no tomorrow. She could have sworn that she was still drunk with the way she felt this morning. Any other decent person would have let their staff recover peacefully but nooooooo, that old fart just had to keep things on schedule.

Blair had officially been posted up at her station for over an hour. ''...If this was some kind of revenge for the hell I raised in my teens and now occasionally, Old Jack really got me good. It's only a little after 5 and every bit of my nocturnal spirit just wants to crawl into the woods and die. On the Brightside, I get to see the look of complete fear when these newbies walk up and see me.'' Blair snickered to herself as her large panther form was sprawled on top of the sign in table, leaving just enough space for the forms to be seen.

In the middle of yawn that flashed dangerous fangs, she picked up on the scent of three people approaching the area. Her tail flicked lazily until the children were within pouncing range. She released a deep roar that focused all the attention on to her, ''Welcome to a little slice paradise where you're allowed to be yourself unless you destroy camp property, are caught doing drugs, or happen to get caught streaking. Nakedness due to an abilities drawback is understandable. I'm Blair, and I'll be the counselor of the girls.'' Blair's feral eyes focused on the girl between the two boys and she smiled in a way that looked more like a silent snarl due to her throbbing temple.

Magic Eight Ball

An armored police transport followed after the bus. Yet it wasnt for escort, rather it was making a delivery. A student from the famed Aegis Academy itself. However, as the staff had been forewarned, this wasnt your average kindly student. But rather a villain in an experimental rehabilitation program.

As the armored transport came to a stop, two men in official uniforms opened the rear doors to allow a handcuffed teenager to exit from the vehicle. A lanky boy with a mop of black hair. A boy who looked far more amused than intimidated, for he was well used to this sort of treatment.

Of the two guards, the large one spoke. "Gil, get the boy his luggage." He said. He was a big muscular guy with a shaved head and a red handlebar mustache. Salem recognized him. He seen him before, and wasnt all that surprised to see him here.

The large man looked at Salem while the other guard was busy digging in the back. He undid the handcuffs and handed the boy a smartphone. "Courtesy of the Doctor." Yes. This was one of the henchmen, he recalled. The Dr.'s favorite mook. Here in disguise to deliver this.

Ah yes. Dr. Anthony Moufinz. A name that struck fear in hearts around the world. One of the greatest and most successful criminal masterminds in the super villain world. Not even Salem has the spine to troll him. And as much as it unnerved him... it would be foolish to refuse a gift from such a power. At least he seemed to have the villains favor. Much better than the alternative.

The turned and left just as Salems luggage was tossed unceremoniously out the back. The vehicle skidded off leaving Salem frowning in the dust.

Moments later, Salem joined the others being lectured by some beast changer lady. No doubt trying to show off. Probably some stupid thing to let kids know it's okay to use their powers here. Well, might as well start his campaign of trouble here. It was going to be a long time here... might as well let them know what they are getting into.

Salem gave a wry smile, his eyes narrowing, "If I put on a dress and call myself Sally, do I get to be assigned to the Girls dorm?" He said snarkily. He wasnt scared. Nah, he had seen some shit already, in prison and in aegis and in his criminal career. She was just some hack that probably couldnt cut it as a super hero.

"Oh hey, and did you know that cats have spiny willys? Given the amount of puma's and shit that are likely out here, I bet winter is pretty hell when it comes time for the dickens." Sex offends. One of the easiest ways to size up and put staff off balance. So how would she take it? Salem awaited her reaction with anticipation. Surely she wasnt expecting freshly arrived students to be so... crude and offensive. But please let it be so! As Salem could only hope to make record time in being expelled from a camp and sent back to somewhere with internet. Of course... at the threat of expelullsion Salem would have to play heavily as the briar rabbit.

The lord of randomness and the warp

a few moments later a fiery purple portal like thing appeared next to Blair, stepping out of it was a large tall man, he was about as textbook "sexy" as one might think a muscular body, chiselled features and clothing that left little to the imagination about his figure he seemed more like a model or something else, then an actual staff member or anything it was a little strange not to say that the other less.. normal features the man had large demony wings along with horns and a very long tail he would give the campers a massive smile on his face as he looked at them all "hey~ there everyone don't mind Blair so much she's just always grumpy" he'd say in a joking tone "aaanyway names Evan and you boys are lucky enough to have me as your counselor"

Grade-A Jackass

Tobias looked down at the corpse for a moment, before his gaze returned to Mungus' avatar. He pondered for a time the better course of action here.
First and foremost he had no intention to cook it now after the little bastard had put his spore-laced hands all over the damn thing. More than likely that'd be how the world gets a zombie epidemic.

..Fine.

Tobias grabbed the dead elk by the horns and slowly dragged it off the road before dropping the corpse, leaving it where they fell.

"If the old bastard asks, the meat was too far rotted to be cooked." He grumbled as he readjusted the sling on his shoulder.
And with that, he would begin his return to the camp. While the elk wouldn't be on the menu tonight, there was still other horrible things to feed the little shits.

"But you are feeding a bear for me right?"Benny piped up. Ryan reached over and smacked him one. "Don't tell her to do that, she might actually do it."Ryan hissed.

Danielle's mouth twitched slightly. Well, she'd have to think on that bear thing. If she sneaked away from camp far enough and was sneaky about not actually being seen by bears....it had some merit.

The fifteen year old glanced sideways at her brothers.

"Right, you delivered me to the counselor. Can you guys go now please? Like you don't have to stick with me all the way to the cabin...because that would be actually be embarrassing. Plus, you know I've never done the camp thing before so I want-"

Before she managed to actually finish formulating the above thought, a man appeared. Well, kind of a man. Was someone with wings and horns still technically considered a man? Especially when he appears out of magic purple portals? Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped slightly open.

"Okay, seriously? Why does everyone have super cool powers like that and mine just like barely qualifies as a super power,"Danielle complained, as she gestured towards Evan.

Oh, and this other boy that had spoken about wanting to join the girls dorm. She turned towards him and raised her eyebrows at him. "Well, I wouldn't mind you joining the girl's dorm providing you'd let me do your hair and nails too."

She turned back to shoo her brothers. As much as she was going to miss them for the month this camp was starting to look interesting....and they were a little too over protective of her these days. The fifteen year old gave them both big hugs and pulled her bags out of Benny's hands. They seemed to both get the message and trailed back towards the family car.

Another boy had walked that reminded her of herself with the escort and all. Blair's own first day at the camp had been a true shit show with muzzles, restraints, a light dose of tranquilizer that was enough to keep an elephant dazed. Good times, good times. ''Welcome aboard Sally, as much as I would love to have everyone in one room filled with teenage pheromones, I'll have to pass. Then I'd have to supervise you little brats to make sure no one ends up pregnant with a half brick, half bird child. Again. Howeverrrrrr, as long as no one gets pregnant I don't see why not, go wild.

The large feline glanced up at Evan once he finally appeared and had the nerve to call her grumpy. ''I don't wanna hear that from someone whose powers stemmed from sex-addict demons and looks like a male stripper 24/7. It's honestly a miracle you're allowed to supervise kids in that revealing outfit but the moment I shift back I'm the one who yelled at. He may look like some kind of demon pervert but our Baby Evan is a nice man that takes his job seriously.''

Blair laughed heartily in her current form at boy's attempt to overwhelm her. She reached her paw beneath the table to pull out a pair of loose navy shorts and a black croptop with white pawprints splattered across. She jumped down just enough to have most of her body hidden as she returned to her human form. The only thing the campers saw was her bare back as changed into the outfit. Blair padded over with bare fit towards 'Sally' and ruffled his mop of hair, ''Oh kid, of course I know all about animal anatomy. But do you know what's worse than that, having to hear them brag about how good their spike game is. Mating season is really hell for me when all I hear is males yelling in the night about getting laid. If you think cat members are wild, you should take a look at a duck soon.''

Another boy had walked that reminded her of herself with the escort and all. Blair's own first day at the camp had been a true shit show with muzzles, restraints, a light dose of tranquilizer that was enough to keep an elephant dazed. Good times, good times. ''Welcome aboard Sally, as much as I would love to have everyone in one room filled with teenage pheromones, I'll have to pass. Then I'd have to supervise you little brats to make sure no one ends up pregnant with a half brick, half bird child. Again. Howeverrrrrr, as long as no one gets pregnant I don't see why not, go wild.

The large feline glanced up at Evan once he finally appeared and had the nerve to call her grumpy. ''I don't wanna hear that from someone whose powers stemmed from sex-addict demons. It's honestly a miracle you're allowed to supervise kids in that revealing outfit but the moment I shift back I'm the one who yelled at. He may look like some kind of demon pervert but our Baby Evan is a nice man that takes his job seriously.''

Blair laughed heartily in her current form at boy's attempt to overwhelm her. She reached her paw beneath the table to pull out a pair of loose navy shorts and a black croptop with white pawprints splattered across. She jumped down just enough to have most of her body hidden as she returned to her human form. The only thing the campers saw was her bare back as changed into the outfit. Blair padded over with bare fit towards 'Sally' and ruffled his mop of hair, ''Oh kid, of course I know all about animal anatomy. But do you know what's worse than that, having to hear them brag about how good their spike game is. Mating season is really hell for me when all I hear is males yelling in the night about getting laid. If you think cat members are wild, you should take a look at a duck soon.''

New Member

Cassandra blinks up at the bright sun. It's very bright, and where she was from, cloudy or smoggy skies were more common than anything else. Looking up at the sky helps distract from her situation, which is... less than ideal. The car is filled with stony silence, since her younger siblings are at home, being watched by the neighbor. It's almost hard to breathe, in the cold quiet of the small car that chugs along the path. She shuffles the one pair of tarot cards she was allowed to bring between trembling fingers as she watches the blueness of the sky. It would be nice if the air was as clear as the sky is. She thought to herself, as the car pulls close enough to the camp to see multiple figures standing.

"Get your stuff and get out." Her father's deep voice rumbles through her like thunder during a storm, and she shivers before nodding solemnly. She got her loudness from him, so it's strange that the volume of his voice would shock her so. But a lot of things have been shocking her recently, despite having some inkling of what is to come. Maybe it's because she truly hoped for once that things wouldn't be this bad.

Cassandra binds the deck with a rubber band, and then tucks her deck of tarot cards awkwardly into her back pocket as she climbs out of the car, grabbing her duffel bag along the way. The strap briefly catches on the seat belt and she frantically tugs at it, desperate to get out of the car as soon as possible. When she gets loose, she scrambles out the door, shutting the car door behind her. Almost as soon as she shuts the door, the car starts to speed off, leaving dust in it's wake and getting it all over Cassandra's clothes. She takes a deep breath after coughing quietly to get rid of the dust that went in her nose and throat.

She makes her way over to the younger people, the... demon? and the newly changed woman, thumbs tucked in the front pockets of her jeans, duffel bag occasionally slipping down her shoulder. She adjusts it with growing annoyance, and then grins at the woman with a wide smile that doesn't quite reach her eyes. This smile twitches when she hears what the group are talking about, and she tilts her head to the side, confused and a little concerned. "I... what?" Are the first words that came out of her mouth, slightly too loud, just like her father's words in the car, like she can't hear properly, or just can't hear her own voice. She laughs, nervously, eyes flicking from person to person. Everyone seems vaguely familiar, like a dream... or a vision she's seen before. Deja vu is something she's used to, though.

Knight in Shoddy Armor

"And remember to brush your teeth! Just because you can't see the cavities, doesn't meant you don't have them!"

The car peeled onto the road, leaving a cloud of dust and smoke. Griffin waved to the vehicle with his free hand, his luggage in the other and his shoulders bearing a backpack. He had arrived with his face wrapped in bandages and black shades over his eyes. He was very thorough, to cover his entire body. As far as anyone else, except maybe the counselors knew, he was just some mummy boy.

Turning to face the camp, Griffin took a long breath, then straightened his posture. Nothing ventured, nothing gained. He started forward, hoping to get off on the right foot. Fortunately, he didn't have to search far. The counselors were gathered in one spot, not too far from the cabins, and it appeared some of the other kids arrived before him. A few of them were girls, too. They were certainly cute-looking.

Clearing his throat, Griffin swallowed and moved to integrate himself with the crowd, mumbling a small, "Hello, everyone."

Wish

So many things were wrong… very wrong. The feeling of dread as Drew's eyes would cast upon the car window, looking at the countryside with an upset stomach. Was a very wrong sensation to feel. Drew loved the country, loved family road trips, and camping excursions. The stretches of untamed land was always an excitement, and yet today, such was far from the case.

Like how the road ended, and turned abruptly into rubble and dirt. Much of her life had abruptly changed after her first frowned upon incident involving her school peers. Her capabilities were no longer dormant, they were active, coursing warmly within her and always ready to blow. And now with the on and off switch acting faulty, before summer she had come across things that were very, wrong.

One being that mom and dad barely acknowledged each other anymore when they came home from work. The spark that used to be there, now long gone as Drew searched their bodies desperately for some senes of love… but all she was met with was the dull grey shade of discontent when the two met eyes before they disappeared into different rooms in the house.

Another problem was Eric, her brother that was a year younger than her. He wouldn't speak to her anymore, worst of all was the mean glare he'd always give her when he passed her. There was so much rage, too much, red just encompassing him that sent chills up her spine. He lashed out at anyone and anything, and Drew felt helpless, being unable to fix it. Even when she tried to project a different emotion onto him obscurely from across the dining table, nothing worked as his anger grew more profound and ever more furious.

The eldest sister Tori was also another concern, and evidence that more things were very wrong with the world. Drew would continue to notice an increased level of stress whenever Tori spoke to their parents, over the simplest things. Like going over to a friends, or stating she'd stay back from school the next day for extra classes. Drew continued to wonder as to why Tori would be encased in a stress-induced orange glow over such mundane things. It was only now Drew came to a conclusion that she was trying to avoid, that Tori was lying, about a lot of things.

And one last form of discomfort that travelled with Drew on this car ride was that after the incident, her grandparents never came over anymore, those on her father side. And she could now understand why her aunt Kelly had rarely ever showed at family lunches. It was strange how her world had just been suddenly flipped upon its head, it's not that her life was anything grand before this, but things were definitely different. Problems ignored, unseen, and dormant. And now she felt like a beached whale stranded upon the shore, gasping for air as it lays far from the comforting waves of the ocean.

Drew's gaze eventually fell away from the window, and despite the upset, what she was glad for was the notebook in her hand, and the ring that encircled her right pointer finger. The journal had been a gift from her best friend, possibly her only friend, usually the whole summer would be spent together… but not this time. Rachel had been so kind as to hand Drew the notebook, inside a picture of the two and a few words. Drew had promised to write in it, and she hoped to abide by such promise.

The ring, however, had been a gift from her aunt Kelly. Before she passed. Drew had vowed never to lose it either, nor take it off unless she really had to. It brought a sense of calm to her as she gently twisted it habitually round and along her finger, when the camp slowly came into view.

Her dad had only driven her here. Drew's mother stating firmly that she needed to get things done at home. Nevertheless, Drew and her father were silent for much of the ride, and silent as he stopped the car. He quietly helped her out and unloaded her duffle bag, while she pulled on her backpack and made sure to straighten out any creases upon her shirt and jeans from the car ride.

"You gonna be okay?" His voice, soft and sympathetic finally interrupted the silence.

"Yeah, Dad, I'll be alright."

"I hope this helps."

Drew mustered a weak smile before giving him a hug. "Me too dad."

The empath stood quiet as her father returned to his vehicle, gave her a final gaze of goodbye, and drove off back the way they had come. With a sigh Drew turned to face the camp, eyes befalling on several kids already at the office. Gripping the strap of her back tighter, eyes momentarily looked to her surroundings, suddenly noticed a small figure stood by the road, besides… was that a deer carcass?

She snapped back to look at the office, before looking once more towards the odd being. The smart decision would be to go to the office with the other kids, but her curiosity was tugging her the other way… that and if she could prolong the introductions, even better.

Picking up the large duffle bag of the floor, Drew quietly stepped away, moving towards the person in the distance. And as they slowly came into view, more considerable confusion delved into Drew's expression. Coming up close, the rotting smell of the deer carcass course became ever more prominent, and while not heavily squeamish, for a sixteen-year-old, the dead deer wasn't the most pleasant sight.

She forced her focus onto the little figure stood beside it. What looked to be a hat, would cast a shadow upon the rest of the body, and Drew had to squat down to view them. "Um… hello." She swatted away the flies the hovered near from the dying animal.

There was immense confusion when she eventually met the eyes of the fellow. Unable to discern age, gender, or any form of identification, made her all the more intrigued. "I'm sorry to bother ya, was it.. hit by a car?" She finally asked softly, looking down at the poor deer, and then quickly returning her gaze back to whom she was speaking too.

Three Thousand Club

The heavy beat of the music can be heard across the car much to the annoyance of the drivers, the source being a thick-set pink girl reclined in the rear seat who seemed to be passing the long trip either asleep or perhaps just relaxing to the heavy metal ballads. As the car finally comes to a stop she cracks a black lidded eye open, and boots the door open unceremoniously to stand up fully and look over the grounds that were going to be her new home for the next several weeks. As the twin heavy boots hit the ground the tall pink girl was now fully visible, shredded black jeans and a similarly worn t-shirt that seems almost painted on, but the most striking feature was probably the sharp teeth that adorned the wide grin.

"Well back to the tool shed for you mooks" grabbing a large black duffel bag from the floor of the car and flipping off the drivers "You got me here without crashing but not for lack of trying, but think ill take this from here" walking closer to the entrance she takes a few more glances at the various features of the camp, kicking a rock onwards with a strut that does not exactly imply the best of intents like the girl was literally looking for trouble.

Justice RIDES AGAIN!!!

About halfway through the four hour drive, Gerald gave up on his father having anything helpful, kind, or generally fatherly to say and surreptitiously popped in his earbuds. This was made somewhat more difficult by the fact that his earholes were no longer shaped correctly to seat the tiny speakers, but he had found recently that if he concentrated, he could hold them in place with this weird new musculature under his skin. It also very effectively concealed the fact that he was wearing them. On the other hand, it made his head look slightly misshapen to do so, but what the hell, right? "I guess this is me now," he muttered to himself, "might as well lean into it."

"What?"

"Nothing, father."

No further words passed between them, as far as he knew, for the rest of the journey. No matter. Holst was company enough.

Time passed. At some point the batteries on his earbuds wore out and he slipped them in the pocket of his overlarge hooded sweatshirt. Perhaps he slept. At last, the trip ended, rather abruptly as his father slammed on the brakes and stopped the car in the middle of the road.

Up ahead the camp was just visible through the trees. A few campers were being left off in the turn around. A bit closer, perhaps a hundred yards distant, a young girl was hunkered down by a dead buck next to a... ...something that was vaguely man like. Too squat and short to be a normie. Whoever it was, they were ...like him. And the girl seemed ok with that. He felt a tiny pang of conscience for making any distinction. Here, they could all just be people, right? That was the whole idea: supers or normies, it was all the same here. Could you even say 'normie' or was that some kind of slur?

"Goddamn Freaks, the lot of them! What are they doing screwing around with that deer carcass? I'm not driving any closer to that. You can walk the rest of the way."

Gerald said nothing, just got out of the car and shouldered his bag. It was heavy enough to curve his spine a little, and his legs began to ache immediately.

A car roared past them. Nobody was driving it.

His father swore again, shouted that his mother would be back for him in four weeks, and did a fifteen point turn before driving off as if chased by demons.

He squinted towards the strange pair and began to walk towards them. He did his best to look normal, putting on his acne to cover up what was really wrong with his skin. It was beastly hot out for a sweatshirt, but he wasn't about to take it off.

He was too far away to hear what was being said, but she seemed to be talking to... him? Them? If they said anything back it was utterly inaudible. Was she a normie? Or just able to pass for one? What was he going to say when he got to them? None of his thoughts so far seemed particularly sharable.

Christ, it was hot.

There you are, talk about the weather. People do that when they don't have anything to say, don't they? Perfectly normal to talk about the weather.

Something akin to sweat dribbled down the small of his back and soaked into his boxers. His feet were chaffing in his shoes and his shins were protesting vociferously. He shifted his bag to his other shoulder, but it didn't help. His back was murdering him.

A car zoomed by, filling the air with dust and heavy metal bass. It was hard to tell, muffled by the car windows and doppler shifted, but it sounded a bit like "Enter Sandman" which made him keenly miss his grandfather, who'd introduced him to Metallica, as well as Holst, when he was six. Grandpa would have been much better company for the trip, but father didn't trust him to drive that far. At least, he thought, grandpa would have driven me up to the actual camp.

The girl who got out of the car, even at this distance, looked like trouble. Or perhaps more accurately, looked like she wants to look like trouble. Should he wave? mm, best not. Either she is trouble in which case best to avoid drawing attention, or she isn't really but would be mad at him for seeing through it. Either way, head down, eyes on the pavement, trudge onward.

Ugh. That's a new smell... "Please don't be my summertime smell," he muttered.

Oh, nope. That was the deer carcass. Should have kept his eyes up after all.

"Hello, Ms.... um, hello... ...Sir? Sure is hot out here."

Attachments

Goth Wonder Girl ☥

It all happened about six months ago but—Astrid could still recall the day as if it was just yesterday. The birthday she should have been dreading—the secret revealed which ate at her family for years and would continue to for years to come.

For the last three generations, one of the women on her mother’s side of the family manifested it. Every generation was different but still remained in the same vein as some sort of psionic. Mother was an empath, something she learned to hide well and blend into society without using much of it at all—that’s how she liked to keep it. Granny Guinevere was a sort of...weather witch as she liked to call it.

Now it was her.

The drive to the camp had been silent, a kind of silent families when there was a disconnect and they were not much of a family at all. Only the sound of tires against the road fills the air. Mom is driving, her eyes fixated on the road-- if not for her driving, they would find something else, something else that was not her daughter.

Astrid stares blankly ahead at the car radio.

Six months ago, she was nearly torn asunder. Granny and Mom were on two opposite sides of the spectrum. While Grandmother seemed to rejoice in this new development—Mom meticulously took every step to prevent it from happening. Even if it meant not having any more children would reduce the odds.
“Astrid? Astrid—“ the sound of father’s voice brings her back, jumping at the sudden call of her name, there is static and then guitar strumming can be heard. The car engine is off.
Dad looks from the radio to her and back again, with widened eyes he opens the door. Mom locks eyes with her through the rearview mirror, a look of anger flashes across her face before she remains fixated on the road again.

Stepping out of the car and taking her belongings from Dad, Astrid manages to fix her lips into a half-smile. “That’s everything,” she said, slinging a bag over her shoulder after the trunk slams shut.

Dad nods, he too, smiles halfheartedly, adjusting his square black glasses. His expression is mild and his blue eyes are soft. “Be careful, honey,” he said, pulling her into a hug and squeezing her tight. Mom never opened the door on her side of the car.

Eyes beginning to water, Astrid nods into his chest and then looks up at him. “I’ll be as careful as I can be,” her gaze falls on the old wooden Camp Winfred sign, the paint is chipping and the sign itself is nearly falling off its post.

Astrid winces. The engine revs to life and makes a U-Turn down the road.

There was a group of kids standing together with two older looking people seeming to be communicating with them—most likely the camp counselors going over rules and regulations and other things one needed to know on the first day of summer camp. With all her belongings, Astrid made her way over to them.

“Sorry I’m late,” announcing her arrival, she positions herself in order to remain comfortable with her belongings figuring she might be standing for awhile.

Saver of the pretty birds

“Tobias. Yes... This is good... Thank you, Tobias.” the little mushroom chimed telepathically as he watched the much larger bodied Tobias drag the body to the side of the road before adjusting his slung rifle and left towards the main campgrounds. Such a generous being, Tobias was. Mungus nodded and bowed in gratitude at the leaving Tobias before turning his attention to the elk’s corpse. Quickly as a 2 foot tall mushroom man could, the fungal avatar trodded over to the body and paused, taking a moment to peacefully watch the flies buzzing around the corpse before his gaze finally came to rest of the body itself.

Ah… Yes. With the body now in contact with the bare earth, Mungus could begin to establish a connection. Entering a meditative state, the form of the fungal avatar slumped and began to release a dusting of spores over the elk’s remains. Already he could feel the beginnings of the mycelium network beneath the soil creeping into the body, establishing new threads of Mungus own consciousness within the corpse. His perception of time slowed as his fungal body slowly began to die over the elk.

“Umm… Hello.” A voice sounded from behind Mungus’ slumped body, drawing his attention back from his zen-like trance to the fungal avatar which promptly shifted it’s body around to look at the source of the voice. It was a nice voice, but he did not recognize it. Hmmm. The fungal body stared blankly at the girl’s face for several awkward moments. Hmmm. This was a new person. She had a kind face, but not one he knew. He was sure of it… maybe.... Hmmm…

Finally breaking the silence, the girl looked towards the corpse and asked of it’s demise. Mungus followed her gaze to the elk for a few moments before looking back at the girl and nodding his head up and down several times.

“Oh, yes. The vehicles are not always very observant.”a calm, low voice echoed through the girl’s mind as he pointed at the car doing a fifteen point turn 30 feet down the road behind them. Calmly the fungal body looked back at the elk and scrunched down to look closely at a small mushroom stalk creeping out from a wound in the elk’s side.

“But it is fortunate. The nutrients can now return to this forest. In this way, the animal is still he-” Mungus’ voice continued before being cut off by another approaching figure nearly stepping on the elk itself. “Oh.”

Mungus stood and gazed blankly up at the new figure. Hmmm. He could not recognize this one either. This was another different one. Hmmm. Two new friends in one day, this was a good thing. After a few silent moments of Mungus shifting his blank stare between the two new faces, the small fungal body reached for it’s cap, breaking off two chunks of fungus and offering them to each of the new arrivals.

The lord of randomness and the warp

Evan cheeks would be puffed out a little as he huffed in annoyance at Blair's comment on his appearance, though in the end, it was just a backhanded compliment. "well Blair I suppose your not wrong~ I just can't help it if I look this good, eeeven if I do wear this sort of clothing, but I might look like.. well a demon pervert at least i don't go around naked half the time" he'd reply jokingly taking a light jab at Blair as she'd shifted back to her more humanoid appearance "sooo~ kids you lot got any questions for us? id be happy to answer em"

Kitty

Adrian Ward
The first thing Adrian did when he arrived was to get naked.

Not naked naked, but he took off his custom-tailored clothes in exchange for a pair of jeans and a faded graffiti shirt. He didn't care how they were designed to fit his power; they stuck to his skin and felt worse than a sauna. It was summer. He rather got naked in public again rather than wearing a unitard in this temperature.

Adrian went to the camp in a ridesharing car. Partly because Grandma couldn't drive him there, but also because she didn't want to drive Adrian in her newly vacuumed car. For a good reason. She still found confetti pieces on the car seat from three years ago every now and then.

His arrival at Camp Winifred was half an hour behind the expected time. The traffic was to blame, but Adrian decided to let the driver bear the burden. As he waved farewell to the leaving driver, his thought went to the glitter bomb that would inevitably explode the next time the car's trunk door is opened. That improved his mood.

Adrian lugged his backpack across the campground with a cheekry grin on his face, already changing his clothes behind some trees earlier. The camp was looking great! Looked a bit rundown, no fancy looking machines anywhere, and best of all, no parents staying over! The extra he stuffed in his bag in the last minute would be worth it. Now-

"Is that a dead deer?!"

Well, it was one, but the boy still rushed to see it up close. His bag cluttered noisily as it swung left and right following his gait. Cool! Shortly after his fascination with the dead deer slightly faded, his eyes widened even larger when he noticed the others around the carcass.

"You're a mushroom!" he exclaimed at the shroom-y guy.

"You're a shady guy!" he exclaimed at the shade-y guy.

"You're a girl!" he exclaimed at- well, the girl.

The whole situation felt absurd. A shroom-y guy, a shade-y guy, a boy, and a girl found a deer carcass in the forest. Adrian went into a fit of laughter. The heavy backpack stole his balance midway and sent him falling to the ground, but it didn't stop him from laughing. He didn't know what was funny; it just was!

Three Thousand Club

The girts head turns behind her, the rest of their body remaining forward as her neck rotates an unnatural degree almost to the squid boys mention about the weather "Heh? Your Welcome" throwing a hand to her hip as the rest of her spins around and she walks over to get a better look at him "Well ain't you just the freakiest ███████ thing i seen yet and ain't even been here a minute" seemingly not one for personal boundaries as she extends a black nailed hand to pluck a tentacle, lifting it upwards before letting it fall "So either someone been dumping toxic ████ in the lake, they are getting creative with lunch your another camper" bending down to look him in the eyes "But either case better speak up with some bass in the voice if you want me to hear you down there".

Her little investigation is stopped however by the voice of another camper "Captain ███████ Obvious over here, but what about the entire respecting pronouns part? I identify as "Her Majesty" so keep that in mind....also mind sharing whatever your having?" crossing her arms spiked clad arms below her chest and looking over the sudden laughing fit for a moment before seeming to get a strange idea "Wait...just what type of Mushroom is that guy?" spotting what looked like a councilor a short distance away "Totally asking for a friend for medicinal reasons"

Wish

Drew was caught off guard as his words sounded off within her head rather than through air between them. She blinked in surprise, head tilting slightly as she looked for movement in his face despite being unable to see his lips if there were any. She had to remind herself, if she was capable of reading someone's emotions, surely he could speak to her in such a manner.

Not wanting to seem rude, she didn't mention her astonishment. Instead nodded slowly in agreeance with his words, and looked to the car he pointed at. Drew disapprovingly huffed as the vehicle drove off. "It is sad that its the living thinking people inside the cars that lack being observant." She added softly before returning to look at the dead animal with a sense of sympathy. His next words, ultimately brought the sixteen-year-old some perspective that she hadn't initially thought of, she wanted to hear more, but the person paused in his words as someone else appeared behind them.

Drew remained crouched, only looking up to view a younger kid stood there. His greeting, and mention of the weather seemed a little awkward and odd, and her eyes couldn't help but notice what to be highly irritated skin. She dared not to stare too long, instead tried to help ease of the awkwardness as she offered a small smile. "Heya… it is quite hot, isn't it? It's normally better with a breeze.. although I guess the weather ain't too fond of us coming here to give us that today." She agreed and stated with a chuckle, better at hiding her nervous thoughts. The kid probably thought she was an absolute psycho for being crouched by a dead elk carcass.

Just before Drew could try and make conversation to avoid him making such a conclusion. The person she had initially approached suddenly snapped off bits of his large-cap, and outstretched a hand to Drew and the kid stood in baggy clothing. While Drew was a little confused as to how his cap had snapped off so easily, a look of sadness momentarily delved into her features. "Oh… you didn't have to do that." She looked down at the piece he was offering, slowly taking it, but her eyes flickered back to his now broken cap. "I quite liked the hat the way it was. It really suits you."

Just after, a loud voice sprung up from behind them.

"Is that a dead deer?!"

"You're a mushroom!"

"You're a shady guy!"

"You're a girl!"

Toffee coloured hues snapped up instantly to the boy as he rolled down to the ground with laughter, and now she stood back up. Internally, Drew was slightly put off -she wouldn't dare suddenly laugh in front of total strangers, for they would assume she was mocking them - hence the impression she felt this kid was imposing. Nevertheless, she attempted to play it cool, with a half-ass smile. Although his descriptions were valuable in one sense. Drew looked back to the person just described as a mushroom, with much curiosity. Weird that she hadn't seen it earlier, but looking at him again, he did indeed look like a mushroom.

"Well ain't you just the freakiest *███████* thing I seen yet and ain't even been here a minute"

Eyes shot up again with even more surprise. 'That's one way to introduce yourself', she thought. Peering over to the girl. For the moment Drew was quiet, with slight disapproval as chatty girl went on, watching silently before the shorter fellow was involved again.

"Wait...just what type of Mushroom is that guy?"

The question had Drew roll her eyes. "You might wanna ask what's his name first don't ya think?" She scoffed in a suggestion.